Coordination with EU and EFTA member countries

Principle

Cash payment on departure abroad

The most important impact of EU law on occupational benefits concerns the restriction placed on cash payment on departure abroad. Under EU law, a refund of contributions when the compulsory insurance requirement ceases in a particular country is not permitted if the person remains liable for compulsory insurance in a different EU Member State.

By application of this principle, the possibility of cash payment of credit balances from occupational benefit schemes has been limited under Article 5 of the vested benefits law with reference to the agreement on the freedom of movement of persons; an appropriate provision has been added to Article 25f of the vested benefits law. The limitation came into force five years after the enactment of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, on 1 June 2007 (for Bulgaria and Romania on 1 June 2009). It was also adopted for the EFTA countries.

Cash payment of the occupational benefit credit balance is no longer possible on departure abroad under the following conditions:

Departure takes place after 31.5.2007 and

the cash payment relates to a credit balance from the statutory minimum benefits (LOB) and

the insured person moves to an EU or EFTA country and

the person concerned must have compulsory state insurance for retirement, disability and survivors' benefits in the new country.

If the occupational benefit credit balance of a particular person comprises benefit claims under both compulsory and non-compulsory schemes, only the benefit from the compulsory scheme can no longer be paid out in cash. If any one of the above points is not satisfied, the entire credit balance can still be drawn in cash on departure abroad.

Cash payment is not allowed if an insured person leaves Switzerland permanently to live in Liechtenstein .

If the cash payment is not possible, the credit balance will be retained in Switzerland on a blocked account (vested benefits account or vested benefits policy). On reaching ordinary retirement age or no less than five years before ordinary retirement age, the credit balance is paid out to the person concerned. No transfer of the credit balance from an occupational benefit scheme to the foreign social insurance scheme will be made.